Home remedy for neck strain | Sneapy Neck Massager Review

The nature of my job makes neck strain a common problem. Unfortunately most of the hospital beds and cardiac tables are old and cannot be adjusted to height. So we are often forced to work in a hunched position for a long period. In the outpatient clinics, we are needed to sit for long periods and write lengthy and repetitive documentations about patients' health conditions. Due to the sheer number of patients, we don't even have time to stretch.

It's heavenly to come home and receive this great gift from Sneapy- a home neck massager! Just the right tool to wind ourselves down after a long day at work!

Sneapy is an online platform that sells various creative home solutions as well as innovative gift ideas. I have reviewed Sneapy gift cards- great to record and send your wishes to others online. Read my previous post here.

This intelligent cervical vertebrae massage instrument comes in an A4 sized box like this.

The back of the box explained what the product actually does.
-Electric impulse massage mode
-Heat moxibustion
-Magnetic effect
-High frequency vibration massage
-Annular traction

These are the correct technical terms of how the massager can help to relax the neck muscles as well as to improve blood circulation. It also helps to relieve neck stiffness.

Unboxing the neck massager reveals this following cool components
- the massager
- a graphic manual of use
- USB charging cable
- extension cables and sticky pads for upper back massage
- aloe vera gel
- remote control
- spare mercury battery

The designs of the neck massager is sleek. It's easy to grip, not too bulky or heavy to hold in the hand.

How to use the instrument?

Firstly switch on the massager. The button is at the bottom of the device. I love the elegant slit blue light indicating the product is switched on.

Attach the massager to the neck. Make sure the buttons are facing the floor.

It's important to note that for the device to function properly, the neck needs to be free from things such as necklaces. Wet the back of the neck with warm towel/the aloe vera gel provided so the metal electrodes are directly adhered to the back of the neck. Just like how it's shown in the photo. Or else the massager may not work properly. Worse even, the impulses delivered may feel like tiny doses of sharp electric shocks to the neck.

This is how big the massager looks like when it's on my neck.

The following parameters can be adjusted while enjoying the neck massage using the remote control. I'll suggest to start with low levels whole accustoming yourself to the function of the massager.

- Strength of impulses
- Strength of massage
- Duration of massage (In minutes)
- Level of local heat application
- Frequency of vibration

Since it's so lightweight, the neck massager can be brought along while traveling and give a good neck massage during long distance driving. It really helps because I get bad neck strains focusing too much on the road for long hours. Just setup the device before you start driving. It's hands free otherwise.

We all know how relaxing a massage is and can lull people to sleep. But please do not wear this massager to sleep or wear it in the shower because it's nevertheless an electronic device. It may be dangerous to do so.

Ran out of battery? No worries. The device, once charged using the USB cable attached, can work up to 2 hours. This is more than enough for a hands free and mobile massage session.

Just having a neck massage is not enough because I often get upper back muscles strain too. That's due to my bad habit of hunching both standing or seated. What's beautiful about this device is that 2 extra sticky reusable electrodes can be attached to the upper back or even your forearms to extend the massage to those areas.

Interested to grab one of these trendy next massagers? It's a great gift for yourself, your spouse and also your parents. Father's day is coming up soon. So if you have been gifting one too many ties or watches, maybe it's time to consider something cool yet practical like this neck massager.

Sneapy Neck Massager Official Link

Cellise Energising Honey Serum Review | the 1st Ionized Honey Serum In Market

Do you know that honey is the beauty secret of the ancient Egyptian Cleopatra? It's rightly so because of its nourishing properties. Not only is it a great food and an energy booster when consumed, it also has healing, anti-oxidant, humectant and antibacterial properties which makes honey a great skin food. No wonder Cellise is bringing high quality Manuka honey into their serum!

Cellise is an Australian brand. Led by Dr Kals Nathan, his team with anti-aging scientists, aesthetic physicians and cosmetologists made Cellise Energising Honey Serum in 2015. Dr Nathan is, interestingly, a specialist in wound care management who has conducted extensive research in the use of Manuka honey in wound healing in the form of LUKKA lotion. Mr husband, who is also an emerging wound care specialist in Malaysia, also uses Manuka honey for many of his patients with diabetic foot ulcers.

More about Cellise Honey Serum:

(1) The 1ST Ionized Honey Serum In the Market
(2) SAFE, NATURAL, ORGANIC
(3) Using Manuka Honey enzyme, Mild but effective
(4) MULTIPURPOSE (For Eyes, Lips, Face)
(5) Negative Ions help to strengthen and restore skin cell activities.
(6) Suitable to all skin types included sensitive skin.

Manuka Honey with MGO400+ grading contains high concentration of Negative Ions (stable Oxygen atoms) to deliver oxygen effectively to skin cells, increases formation of collagen and neutralizes free radicals formation which leads to cell damage and aging. All the ingredients are 100% natural, safe and Australian certified Organic, Cosmo Organic, Cosmo Natural and approved by National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agent (NPRA) in Malaysia.

What does it mean by ionising?
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The story behind this is intriguing. With years of research, Dr Nathan managed to make skin cells regenerate and function at its maximum potential. The cells are activated via a process called ionizing which provides energy to the powerhouse in the cells called mitochondria. This pathway is named as Electric Cooperation between cells which has something technical dealing with action potential and ion channels on the cell surface.

How to apply Cellise Honey Serum?

1. Cleanse skin
2. Shake the serum bottle for 10 seconds before use to activate the negative ions
3. Apply serum
--Dispense 1 pump and apply using finger tips to the whole face and neck for normal, oily or combination skin
-- 2 pumps, leave for 10 minutes then rinse off for dry and acne prone skin.
4. Moisturize as usual.
5. Apply every night.


Watch this YouTube video below for a detailed explanation.

What does Dr Yingzangel think?

I have tested it. It smells just like a good pot of honey. When applied at night just before sleep, the skin felt so soft and supple. It's not sticky like normal honey though and it doesn't attract ants in case you wonder. My skin also stops having breakouts. Not only that, I can apply this serum on the face, around the eyes as well as the lips instead of having different products.

How can I not share this good stuff with you? Now one of you stand a chance to win a bottle of Cellise Honey Serum!

1. Like @Cellise FB
2. Share my post and set to public.
3. Comment on my FB post: I want to try #CelliseHoneySerum

The lucky winner will be announced on 14/6/19. Good Luck!

IG: @cellisemalaysia
FB: @cellisemalaysia
Website

2 Syawal Yang Dipertuan Agong Open House Istana Abdul Aziz Kuantan

Early in the morning, I asked baby Bing who just woke up from sleep-- do you want to go to the palace and see the King? He was so excited and immediately gave the affirmative. That's after an awesome experience during the MB's Open House on 1 Syawal. So that's our very first visit to the Sultan Abdul Aziz palace at Indera Mahkota, Kuantan, Pahang. As the current Sultan is also Yang Dipertuan Agong, we were expecting a huge crowd!

The palace office was kind enough to arrange for additional parking spaces at the Kotasas gallery as well as the International Islamic University of Malaysia. We chose the latter because it was just 8 minutes' drive away from home. As usual, we left about half an hour early because with 2 boys in tow, we needed to avoid most of the crowd. There was frequent shuttle vans from the parking lots heading to the palace. The late King had just deceased during the month of Ramdhan, so we observed the solemn period of mourning by wearing colors like black, white and dark blue.

The palace was magnificently built on top of a slight hill. We loved the sky blue exterior. We were led from the front yard to the side yard which overlooked the rest of Kuantan Town by the pool side.

Many white tents were set up for the Rakyat to dine in. The weather was slightly cloudy and at one point it started to drizzle a little but we were glad that only lasted during the first 30 minutes.

Food wise, there was chicken rendang (fried and braised), beef rendang, ketupat, lemang, satay, achar, tomato rice, fried noodles and fried kuantan teow. There were also assorted kuih such as kuih bahulu, peanut cookies, chocolate cookies and kuih semperit.

Dessert can't run away from everyone's favourite icicles as well as cakes. Even though it's cooked in bulk, I would say overall the food was splendid and just had the right balance of spices and flavours. Even baby Bing was starting to accept the spicy chicken rendang.

The highlight of the event was wefie with the Yang Dipertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'atatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah. We were so star struck by the end of it and were pleasantly surprised at how approachable He was. He even casually asked Bing whether his icicle was tasty or not.

Children always have the most fun during festive seasons. Besides roaming around the palace grounds, they were also blessed by the King's duit Raya. Long Live the King!

There's the exhausted baby Bing hugging his blessings to sleep. That marked our 2 extraordinary Raya Open Houses in 2019!

1 Syawal at Menteri Besar's Open House in Kuantan

We have been Rakyat Kuantan for almost 7 years now but this is the very first time we get to attend YAB MB's Open House at Dewan Jubli Perak Kuantan.

The nature of our work means that we were mostly required to work in the hospital almost every Raya. This year I am lucky (thanks to Mr husband who is away for conference in Sweden which means that I have to babysit and cannot commit to oncall). So there we go, baby Bing's very first time attending a Raya Open House! And mom's first visit to the beach and Open House in Kuantan.

Since the venue was really near to the beach (about 5 minutes drive away), we started the morning having a leisurely stroll at Teluk Cempedak. We were surprised that the beach was already packed with people at 9am. The weather was really good- not too sunny or gloomy. And many were picnicking in the area or swimming in the relatively calm ocean already.

We arrived at Dewan Jubli Perak about half an hour before the Open House started so there was still plenty of parking spaces available along Jln Teluk Sisek just 200 meters away from the entrance. We were amazed at the size of crowd waiting to enter the hall.

At 11am sharp we were allowed into the spacious hall. The setting was elegant and the huge celling fan made it very comfortable to dine in. Food was of course buffet style and there was at least 6 counters running concurrently. Even then the queue was formidable.

Besides the conventional Raya food like lemang, Nasi impit, Nasi briyani, chicken and beef rendang, there was also laksa Pahang. I didn't manage to take a good photo of the rice dishes because the famished crowd left the trays almost empty by the time I got to the food.

These delicious roast lamb deserved special mention. Perfectly roasted with all the fat melted, yet still juicy with the great charred flavour made perfect by the black pepper sauce. Thanks Ming for lining up under the sun so we got to taste it!

Dessert wise, there was Pahang's famous cendol. This Abang cendol was really dedicated and fulfilled the crowd's request for extra cendol/gula Melaka etc. For children, huge Train Your Dragon lychee flavoured ice creams were obviously a big hit.

Both baby Bing and Yi were also blessed by YAB Dato Sri Hj Wan Rosdi's duit Raya. Too bad I didn't see him coming in advance because we were seated at the first table on the far right facing away from him so we didn't have a group photo with him! From the short conversation, he sounded like a kind and generous man.

That's it! Our pleasant experience at Pahang MB's Raya Open House! Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Maaf Zahir and Batin to all. 

Good domestic cleaner | Clorox Scentiva Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner Review

I woke up 3am last night trying to clean up my boy's soiled diaper and onesie. Just when I opened up the diaper, he happily shot a fountain of urine so I had to clean up the floor as well. By the time I finished, I was already wide awake and luckily the boy fast asleep.

Does this sound familiar? Parents with young children will agree with me. Cleaning can be a real disaster. Not to sound obsessive compulsive, these dirty items often become the breeding ground for germs. I won't be surprised if you tell me this is the 5th time you are mopping the floor for the day.

Naturally when Clorox Scentiva was first introduced in the market, I fell in love with it. Grab one bottle and spray it all for cleaning. It's suitable for stainless steel, synthetic marble, glazed ceramic tiles, linoleum, countertops, stove top, appliance exteriors, sinks, floor, cabinets, tubs and walls.

Clorox® Scentiva® Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner kills 99.9% of viruses and bacteria; powers through tough grease and grime. It also effectively cleans, disinfects, degreases surfaces and eliminates odors!

Product Ingredients

Water/aqua is the most widely used solvents and serves as the base of this cleaner. 

Lauramine Oxide is  as a primary cleaner, foam enhancer, stabilizer and thickener.

Alkyl C12-16 Dimethylbenzyl Ammonium Chloride is a quaternary ammonium compound (or "quat") and is added to products as cleaning agents, or as antimicrobial agents in EPA-registered disinfecting cleaning products.

Ethanolamines are used in household cleaners and laundry detergents as a solvent for removing soils that are fatty, oily or acidic.

Fragrances and perfumes are mixtures of fragrant essential oils, aroma compounds, fixatives and solvents to add a particular scent (lavender, lemon, etc.) to clothes and homes, and to mask unpleasant odors. 

Tetrapotassium EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) is used to remove soap film and hard water scale in a wide range of cleaning products, including hard surface cleaners, liquid soaps, laundry detergents, antimicrobial cleaners, and commercial products. It also helps maintain the product's appearance, and prevents deterioration.

How to use Clorox Scentiva?

1. Spray 6–8 inches from soiled surface.

2.  Wipe clean with a dry paper towel or lint-free cloth.

3. Repeat for heavily soiled areas.

Look at the difference after a single application on my kitchen top. That's without presoaking the surface with Clorox Scentiva. For a fulltime working mom who has no time for house work, this is an absolutely amazing result. My mom who visits us once in a while, helps with housework because she can't stand the grime (lol), loves how well it works in cleaning the fumehood which hasn't been cleaned for months (gasp!)

Besides Clorox Scentiva Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner, the Clorox Scentiva range also has wet mopping cloths, wet wipes, bathroom foam cleaner and toilet cleaning gel. It comes with 4 amazing scents: Tuscan Lavender & Jasmine, Pacific Breeze & Coconut, Hawaiian Sunshine™ and Fresh Brazilian Blossoms.

I love this YouTube ad about the 5 seconds rule!

Besides that, Clorox also plays an important role by giving back to the society. Clorox has teamed up with Animal Planet to help fund a multimedia project calling attention to a deadly fungus that is destroying frog and amphibian populations. All the tools used in the frog rescue are disinfected with Clorox bleach to help prevent the spread. Clorox also helped The California Rice Commission to controlling a fungus, Fusarium fujikuroi, which causes rice crops to fail to germinate. 

Find out more on Clorox Scentiva website.

p.s. I got mine from Home Tester Club.

3 top tips to look naturally gorgeous all day long | Althea A'bloom Review

With this crazy weather and haze, it's even more important to make sure we take good care of our health including our skin! It's not easy to make our fresh look last especially if you work outdoors with all the sweat and polluted air. That's why Althea has recently introduced their A'Bloom product series to help us staying gorgeous. These 3 steps/tips are essential if you want to look good all day long.

After the usual skincare routine of cleansing, (read my previous post about the Bare Essential skincare products). It's time to exfoliate!

Tip 1: Clear the pores with BHA Blackhead Blaster.

Unfortunately dirt and impurities tend to clog the pores and form black and white heads. These can be really unsightly and worse still can make our pores bigger.

The BHA Blackhead Blaster is a cute size balm in the shape of a stick to painlessly exfoliate, clean the pores from blackhead and whitehead and prevent them from clogging again. I can still remember the last time I had to get them manually extracted. The pain!

These are the list of active ingredients:

White Willow Bark aka beta hydroxy acid (BHA) 5,000ppm
Charcoal
Apricot seed
Teatree leaf oil

There's noticeable difference right after I washed the balm off. It works even better if the pores are already opened up using steam/warm compress.

Tip 2: Boost the skin with suitable mask

For those who really have no time to do proper facial at an aesthetic center, the least we can do to help is by applying masks at home. The A'Bloom series has 4 types of masks to suit different skincare needs. Fruit juice is the main feature in this mask series.

Moisturising Watermelon Sheet Mask

This mask is great for combination skin. It's main function is to hydrate, moisturise and soothe irritated skin.  Imagine watering your skin with watermelon juice. Yum!

Key ingredients
Citrullus Vulgaris (Watermelon) Fruit Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract

Nourishing Avocado Sheet Mask

This mask suits all skin types particularly dry skin. It is rich in antioxidants to nourish and protect our skin from harmful environmental pollutants and to prevent wrinkles to ensure supple and glowing skin.

Key ingredients
Adenosine, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Fruit Extract, Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract.

Antiblemish Peach Sheet Mask

This anti-blemish mask purifies and soothes irritated and sensitive skin. Not only that it also helps to regulate sebum production and balance skin moisture. Therefore, it's great for oily skin!

Key ingredients
Prunus Persica (Peach) Fruit Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract

Brightening Lemon Lime Sheet Mask

This brightening mask clarifies and brighten dull skin to unveil the natural glow from within. It also helps with pigmentation.

Key ingredients
Niacinamide, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Fruit Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Tip 3: Apply makeup 

I don't really like to put on makeup sometimes because I find it difficult to stop my foundation from caking up on my face. But using these cute meringue puffs make smooth application easier than ever. These irresistibly sweet and versatile puff can be used dry(matte feeling) or wet (smooth feeling). They are made from high density latex free foam.

It comes in extra large size to ensure quick and even application over the whole face. There is another pack of smaller puffs which make blending eye shadows and blusher easily. The pointed end is also great for blending around curve and angles.

There you go, 3 top tips for looking gorgeous all day long! Watch my YouTube for a short video of how to use all these 3 products.

  

What's Althea?

Althea supplies the latest K-beauty products with
-Free international shipping from Korea
-Althea authenticity guaranteed.
-Best price policy.
-30-day unconditional refund.

Official website

Practical products for family | Gajah Baring Balsamo, Oless Lip balm and thermometer review

As a family with young children, we always have to make sure we have a few practical things in hand. As a doctor, I do believe in certain traditional remedies particularly in remedies that are applied to the skin such as massage oil, essential oil and herbal rubs/creams. Having products with ingredients suitable for the use of the whole family is even more important when we travel to reduce the amount of baggage. I am sure those with children will understand how much luggage our children need for a short 2 days away from home! I have recently received Gajah Baring Balsamo, OLESS lip balm and a cute froggy body thermometer which are good additions to the house.

Gajah Baring Balsamo

This garlic balm is useful for the whole family from babies to the elderly. It can be simply used as a massage oil to moisturise the skin or as a chest rub to relieve nasal congestion while suffering from cold. As our weather has become so unpredictable with sweltering hot sunny day and chilly raining evenings, many have fallen to viral infections. I have just recovered from one but my poor 5 month old has caught the virus from me. Because he's so young, he's not suitable to use cold medications. Therefore, traditional remedies like this garlic balm come in a very timely manner.

Gajah Baring Balsamo contains white garlic, olive oil, vitamin E, sunflower oil and bee wax. It's made of real garlic so it smells exactly like one! Without any added fragrance or artificial colouring that may cause allergies in those with sensitive skin.

I also love how Gajah Baring Balsamo comes in the form of a solid balm because I have way too many stained baggage items due to ointments/creams in the liquid form. When rubbed into the skin/chest gently, it doesn't really give any heaty sensation but it does help to relieve blocked nose. This helps my little boy to sleep better because he could breathe easier and was more comfortable. The other options is nasal irrigation which I find really unpleasant for both parents and children. My boy often chokes when I tried to irrigate his blocked nose which made his all the more irritable.

With every purchase, it now comes with a cute froggy body thermometer like this. I would like a thermometer is an essential item in every home's medicine cabinet. This is particularly because high grade fever can be an indication of serious infection which may require hospital admission.

In young children, they are also prone to having what we call febrile fits-- when body temperature is too high, it can cause convulsion. Even though febrile fits usually do not carry any serious consequences in our children's development and is usually self limiting, it's still better to know the exact body temperature and to lower it using paracetamol or other medications when needed. It can be a real scary sight. To learn more about febrile fit, refer to this RCH article.

If you are interested, you can get a Gajah Baring Balsamo at RM29.90 (excluding postage RM8 West Malaysia, RM12 East Malaysia)

For more information, please refer to the official website
Gajah Baring Balsamo
FB: Gajah Baring HQ (Garlic Balm)
IG: gajahbaring_hq
Distributed by ARS Pure Solution
Contact no.: 0187665694

OLESS lip balm

This is another family friendly product. This lip balm is homemade and safe for children use because the flavour and coluring are food grade. It's exactly like putting strawberry candy directly on the lips. Yums!

OLESS lip balm contains extra virgin olive oil, vitamin E, strawberry flavour and colouring.  These are nourishing ingredients that moisuturise the lips to deal with problems such as cracked lips, dry lips and pigmented lips.

Look at how excited baby Bing is! He has been observing me putting on my coloured lip balm so he immediately knew what to do with this lip balm. Strawberry is also his favorite flavour! I think this lip balm is going to finish in no time.

The price tag is also affordable at only RM10 each (excluding postage RM8 West Malaysia, RM11 East Malaysia).

For more information, please refer to
Official website
FB: Zuraini Muhammad
IG: zmbeauty_hq
Contact No.: 01132484182
Distributed by ZM Beauty

P.S. If you purchase these items during Raya period, you will also get these extra duit Raya packets. I love the design, so elegant :)